How a Bill Becomes a Law/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby An image shows a form labeled "Application for Citizenship." The photo and information on the form is for a robot, Moby. A hand appears and stamps the form "Rejected." A boy, Tim, stands next to Moby at the mailbox outside their house. Moby holds his rejected application. TIM: They turned you down? MOBY: Beep. TIM: I don't think robots can actually become U.S. citizens. MOBY: Beep. Moby frowns. TIM: I don't know. I just don't think it's ever come up. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, How does the U.S. Congress pass laws? From, Moe. TIM: It's a long process. Every law in America starts out the same way, though, as an idea. Lots of these ideas come from senators and representatives in Congress, but some of them start with regular people who have no connection to politics. Moby's frown becomes a smile, and a lightbulb appears over his head. TIM: These people write to their local representative or senator explaining their idea. In Moby's imagination he sits at a desktop computer, typing quickly. The document on his monitor is titled, "Why Robots Should Be Citizens," and it is addressed to Senator Roibush. TIM: The congressperson will then decide if the idea is a good one or a bad one. An animation shows the United States Capitol Building and then Senator Roibush at her desk reading Moby's letter with a skeptical look on her face. TIM: If the congressperson doesn't like the idea, it could end right there. Still in Moby's imagination, Moby hides in the bushes outside Senator Roibush's office. Senator Roibush crumples up Moby's letter and throws it out her window, and it hits Moby in the head. He catches thecrumpled-up letter and holds it, looking sad. MOBY: Beep. Moby shakes his fist at Roibush's window. TIM: Or, if they like the idea, they may decide to sponsor it. MOBY: Beep. TIM: That just means that they'll introduce the idea in Congress as a bill, and speak out in favor of it. An animation shows Senator Roibush walking up to a podium, holding a sheet of paper. TIM: A bill is a document that explains how such a law would work. An image shows a document called "109th Congress, 1st Session, Senate Resolution #3452: Robot Citizenship." TIM: Bills can be introduced in either the Senate or the House of Representatives. An image shows the U.S. Capitol Building. Other images show the chambers where the Senate and House of Representatives meet. TIM: For a bill to become a law, it must first pass through a committee. An animation shows the Robot Citizenship bill and the committee it must pass through. TIM: Committees are groups of congressmen and -omen who specialize in certain types of laws. The committee discusses the bill and votes on it, "yea" for yes and "nay" for no. An animation shows a committee voting on the bill. TIM: If approved, the bill is then sent to a full house of Congress. The full house then discusses, debates, and votes on the bill. A flowchart illustrates the each step the bill goes through. TIM: If more than half of the congresspersons vote in favor of the bill, it'll pass on to the other house. That means that in the House of Representatives, with 435218 of them have to vote "yea." An image shows the House of Representatives. Next to the image, the total votes are shown as 435, with 218 "yea" and 217 "nay." TIM: If the bill begins in the Senate, with 100 members, 51 of them must vote "yay." An image shows the Senate. Next to the image, the total votes are shown as 100, with 51 "yea" and 49 "nay." TIM: If a bill doesn't pass this first vote, it's often thrown out for good. An animation shows the Robot Citizenship bill being thrown into a trash can. TIM: But lots of times, it'll be sent back to the committee it came from to see if they can fix it. A flowchart illustrates the bill returning to the committee and then back to the full house. MOBY: Beep. TIM: That's right. There are tons of opportunities for a bill to be thrown out before it ever becomes a law. So, once a bill passes the vote in one house of Congress, it goes to the other one for the same process: committee, discussion, debate, and vote. If the bill passes both the House and the Senate, it goes to the president. The president can decide to either sign the bill, at which point it becomes a law— A flowchart illustrates the bill's further progress as it goes from the House to the Senate, and then the president, and then to law. An image shows a photograph of Moby and the president displaying the Robot Citizenship bill. Moby is making "rabbit ears" behind the president's head. TIM: Or if he doesn’t like the bill, the president can veto it. An animation shows a hand stamping the Robot Citizenship bill with the word "veto." TIM: Once the bill is vetoed, it goes back to Congress. The flowchart illustrates the bill's return to Congress. TIM: Each house of Congress can then decide whether it wants to change the bill, abandon the bill, or override the president's veto. A diagram shows the progress of the bill through Congress, bypassing the president as Congress overrides the veto. TIM: If two-thirds of each house votes to override, the bill becomes law despite the president's veto. In the House of Representatives, that means 290 votes out of 435. An image shows the House of Representatives. Next to the image, the total votes are shown as 435, with 290 "yea" and 145 "nay." TIM: In the Senate, it's 67 out of 100. An image the Senate. Next to the image, the total votes are shown as 100, with 67 "yea" and 33 "nay." TIM: It's a tough vote to get. An animation shows the Senate floor. A counter at the top of the screen tallies "yea" and "nay" votes. The final count is "yea" 65, "nay" 35. There is a loud buzz as the bill fails to get enough votes to override, and the Robot Citizenship bill is dropped in the trashcan. TIM: Hey, Moby. Don't feel so bad. Each year, Congress looks at thousands of bills and only approves a few of them. MOBY: Beep. Moby looks sad. TIM: Well, it does seem complicated. And it is. But that's the whole point. We don't want laws passed whenever someone feels like it. That would be dangerous. The process by which a bill becomes a law is long and involved to ensure that the laws are only made after they have been carefully considered, and when a lot of people think it's the right thing to do. The flowchart showing how a bill becomes a law reappears. TIM: What are you working on now? Moby is sitting at his computer typing a letter titled "Why Robots Should Be Granted Diplomatic Immunity." MOBY: Beep. TIM: I really have to remember to stop encouraging you. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Social Studies Transcripts